I forgot to include a picture in post yesterday to demonstrate what a good wife I am, meaning I forgot to show just how close our hotel was to the Martinborough Brewery! The only thing missing was a gate through the fence..
Despite knowing we could sleep in a bit this morning we both woke by 7am. We did take our time getting ready and ate our light breakfast of yoghurt and fruit in our pleasant room. We did have a nice little verandah with a table and chairs but it was too chilly to sit outside. But the view out intot he garden was still nice through the big windows.
We set off at around 9am for the short drive to Wellington. The drive up and over the Remutaka Range was scenic and curvy. I had planned for us to stop at an overlook called the Remutaka Crossing, but unfortunately we couldn’t pull into the carpark from our side of the road. We just had to enjoy the views from the car instead.
We arrived in the main port area of Wellington at around 10.30 and I thought it was a little to early to go straight to the hotel so we drove up to the lookouts at Mt Victoria. The drive up is through an older suburb where the houses are mostly pastel, timber Victorian homes. The streets are very steep and I was very strongly reminded of San Francisco. If Wellington and San Francisco aren’t sister cities then they really should be, the resemblance is remarkable!
When we climbed out of the car at the top of Mt Victoria we were amazed…. by how NOT windy it was! Wellington is called the “Windy City” but we haven’t seen any evidence of that today. The water in the harbour is like glass and the sun is shining and there is barely a breath of a breeze – we are very lucky!
There are two viewpoints at the top of the mountain, we climbed up the steps to the first one and just drank in the lovely view. Wellington is a beautiful city!
Then we walked over to the second, older viewpoint. This one had a covered area and a statue of The Duke of Wellington, after whom the city is named. We spent quite a while up the top enjoying the views from all angles and watching the planes fly in to the airport.
We thought we would drive downand see if we could checkin to the hotel, The Grand Chancellor James Cook, luckily when we arrived they were able to give us our room straight away. We’re on the top floor and have access to their Harbourview Lounge, which has fabulous views down to the harbour. My Dad had told me about this hotel, he and Mum had stayed here many years ago and recommended it for the easy parking. It’s set well up the hill above the town but has a lift that deliveres you straight down to the street below. Very convenient!
After dropping our bags into the room we set out straight away to enjoy the lovely day outdoors. First stop was barely 20 metres from the hotel, the base station for the Wellington Cable Car. The Cable Car is a funicular railway and was built to serve a new residential area in the Kelburn hills. The original line opened on February 22, 1902. Powered by a steam engine and later an electric motor, it quickly became a vital part of the city’s transport network.
After nearly 80 years of service, safety concerns led to the closure of the original system in 1978. A new, fully automated funicular replaced it, opening in 1979. Riding the cable car is an iconic thing to do here so we bought our return tickets and waited for the little red car to arrive, didn’t have to wait long as they run every 10 minutes.
At the top we took “that photo” of the cable car ( above) and then went in to learn about it’s history in the little Museum. They have displays about the earlier version of the system including the fully restored original cable car, much smaller than the modern ones, and we could also walk through the old Winding room with the big wheels turning and pulling the old cables ( no longer connected!)
We rode back down to Lambton Quay , one of the cities main shopping streets and then walked the few blocks down to the harbour front. It’s a lovely walk along the water here via the Commonwealth Walkway that runs right around the bay. We dodged the many people out for a run ( office workers on lunch break?) and strolled along enjoying the lovely water views. We passed by some interesting statues and signs along the way.
Eventually we reached Te Papa, The National Musuem of New Zealand. At 36,000 square metres and six stories high, Te Papa is the country’s largest museum and contains a vast repository of collections. It’s home to more than 800,000 artworks, objects, and specimens. Among the long-term exhibitions is Te Taiao Nature, where you can explore New Zealand’s weird and wonderful wildlife. It tells the story of the country’s seismic history and how it has influenced the incredible native flora and fauna.
The museum is free for Kiwis ( as it should be ) but we had to pay and entry fee. I was quite disapponted to learn that their exhibit called “Gallipoli: The Scale of Our War” was temporarily closed. I’ve seen images of the exhibit which includes huge larger-than-lifesize images of Gallipoli soldiers that were created by the WETA workshop ( the creative geniuses behind the Lord of the Rings and many other movies). However the other exhibits were outstanding, and we spent an hour or two in there. Amongst other things we came across Phar Lap’s skeleton and a really ENORMOUS squid!.
We enjoyed a coffee and sausage roll for a late lunch in one of their cafe’s and then headed back through the town to our hotel. Along the way we passed the Wellington Rowing Club, and the rowers are making the most of the lovely still conditions this afternoon. There are at least a half dozen rowing boats out there now.
By 5pm we were ready to head down and find somewhere for drinks and dinner. On our walk earlier we had passed the Bin 44 restaurant near the waterfront so we decided to give it a try. It was a good choice, as we were by the water I had to have fish and chips ( I always go for fish and chips if I’m near the water!) and it was perfect 🙂 Neil had Nasi Goreng and said it was also a good choice.
After dinner we went for another walk along the waterfront but in the opposite direction to where we had gone earlier. There are some pretty lighting effects at night.
Finally we headed back to the hotel. It was nice to be able to grab a cappuccino and a cookie from the lounge to take back to the room, and a bonus to see the harbour view again with the city lights coming on. Tomorrow we will spend some more time exploring Wellington .
